Improvement in machine for smoothing spokes



HORATIO KEYES, OF TERRE HAUTE, INDIAN-A y' Letters Patent No. 99,913,dated February 15, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINE POR SMOOTHINGSPOKES.

The Schedule referred toA in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HORATIO KEYES, of Terre Haute, in the county ofVigo, and State ot Indiana, have invented anew and improved.Spoke-Sn'oothing Machine; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable thoseskilled Ain the art to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings forming part of this specification. i

r The ohect of this invention is to provide a machin y for rapidly andeconomically smoothing spokes for wagon wheels.

The invention consists of au improved arrangement of apparatus forslowly moving the spoke, held incenters at the ends lengthwise, alongand turning it in contact with a polishing belt, moving rapidly acrossit, the said apparatus being guided by a pattern to move the spoke to or'from the belt, according to the variations in the shape ofthe saidspokes, so that the pressure against the belt will always be the same,and the effect thereby rendered uniform.

The invention also comprises certain means for reversing the movementoi' the spoke-carrying devices for moving the spokes longitudinally backand forth, also certain means for throwing the spokes out ot' contactwith the belt at the end of each 4longitudinal movement, and forautomatically stopping the longitudinal movements at the ends of thesame in each direction.

Figure 1 represents a sectional elevation of my improved machine, takenon the line :c ot' iig. 2;

Figure 2 represents a top view with some parts partly represented inperspective; and

Figure 3 represents atransverse sectional eleva-tion, taken on the liney y, g. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts. i Arepresents a mandrel, arranged in bearings B at the ends of arms C,having bearings at D, whereon they may osoillate.

This mandrel is provided with two. loose pulleys E F, a sliding-clutch,G, av sliding-frame composed ot' parts H I T, a toothed pinion, K, and ascrewed end, L.

The clutch slides between the pulleys and is ysecured to the mandrel, asis also the pinion K, by a feather.

This pinion gears with the toothed wheels N O, which are on spindles IQ, borne by the cross-piece .H of the sliding-frame.

The .cross-piece I carries tail spindles R S, corresponding to thespindles P Q, and the two cross-pieces are connected by bars T.

The spoke to be smoothed is suspended between the spindles P R, and apattern, U, having enlargements V W at or near the ends, is suspendedbetween the spindles. Q S. The enlargement W is adjustable.

rlhis enlargement of the patternrests on the wheel l X, which revolveson a stud-pin projecting from the frame of the machine, and supports tbemandrel A and its adjuncts, and governs the positions of the spokesrelatively to the polishing-belt Y, working over the pulley Z, andhaving its surface provided with any rough or polishing material.-

total-y motion is imparted to the mandrel Ally the beltsA`1 A2, actingupon the pulleys E F and clutch G, one turning it one way and the otherthe other way, one belt working direct. and the other being crossed. Themandrel imparts motion to the spindles P Q, revolving them and the spokeand pattern slowly, at the same time that they are moved along bythescrewed end L of the shaft, screwing through the crosspiece I. i i,

lhe pattern is so shaped and arranged relatively to the spokes, that,working ou the wheel X, it will move the spoke tojor from the belt, asrequired by the varying shape .of the spoke, by raising the mandrel andarms c c or lowering the same, whereby the action of the polishing belton the said spokes will be uniform. When 4the spokes have arrived at theend of their movements 'either way'it is desirable to move them entirelyaway from the belt, so `that when standing to be removed or set into thereturn movement, the belt will not act upon them unduly in'one place.This is effected by the enlargements Vaud lV of the pattern, which,ridingup to the top of the wheel X, as they are arranged to do, willraise the spokes entirely out of -the reach of the belt.

Guiding rollers B are arranged under the belt at of which work betweenpins a, proiecting'from the' vertically-sliding weighted bars F3 audh,which have notches b in their sides, into which spring-catches d, dropwhen the said weighted bars are raised, which is done by a slidinghand-lever, Gr', having cords G and 4Gr2 connected to it, and workingover guide-pulleys in such a manner as to raise one bar while the otheris down, and cioe corsa.

When the bar G1 is drawn out to the right and the bar F raised, theclutch will be moved into gear" with the pulley F, and the mandrel willbe rotated in the direction to move the carryingframe and the spoke tothe right, and when moved the other way the clutch Y will gear into theother pulley, and the opposite movement of the mandrel and spoke willtake place.

VThe said lever G is moved by hand. To prevent the carrying-flame fromrevolving with the mandrel, a projection, H, from the cross-head H,works in a slot in the ba'r H2. Inl order-to prevent the cross-headsfrom being moved too far bythe screwed mandrel,it is desirable to stopthe motion of the said mandrel automatically at the end of 4eachmovement.

This I accomplish by means Vof a sliding-bar, I', having pins-12 and I,arranged to strike the ends of the spring-catches d, whenthe bar ismoved in the right direction, and disengage them from the bars FiI or Fand allow them to fall, by which they will move the clutch G away fromeither oi' the pulleys E or F, with which it may be engaged, but not farenough to engage the other.

This bar I is moved at the proper time by the wheel o coming in contactwith the pins K1 or K projecting into the path of the said wheel.

As represented in the drawing, the machine is in the position to movethe carrying-frame to the right, which movement will continue until thewheel o strikes the pin K2, and moves the bar I1 far enough to the rightto cause the pin -Ii to disengage the spring d fronrthe bars F, and letvit fall, by which the tilting bar 11" will be carried-down far enoughto throw the clutch out of gear with the pulley F. -This will take placesimultaneously with the raising of the enlargement V of the pattern uponthe wheel X. The mandrel will then stand still until the slide-bar G ismoved again in the opposite direction.

The tail spindle R is required to be moved quickly for the removal ofthe finished spoke and the insertion of another, for whichit is providedwith an eccentric lever, L, and connecting-link L, so arranged that whenthe lever is turned down in the positionrepresented inthe drawings, toforce the spindle up to the spoke, the connecting piece of the link willfall slightly below the pivot-pin f of the lever. and be thereby lockedin that position,

Having thus described my invention,

I' claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. Thecombination of the 'movable frame H l TT, carrying-centers P. R QS,screw-shaft A L, sliding pinion K, spur-wheels N O, pattern V, andpolishingbelt Y, all arranged and operating in the manner and for thepurpose specified. l

2. The threaded mandrel A, arranged in bearings C C of the frame, incombination with loose pulleys E F, clutch-sleeve G, gearsK N 0, centersP Q, and nut I, the said parts constituting the feeding mechanism, andbeing constructed and arranged as described.

3. The pattern U, with enlargements V and W thereon, constructed asdeseribed,in combination with the wheel X, the said parts operating toremove the spoke away from the belt at the end of each traverse, as setfort-h. l

4. The combination of sliding hand-lever G', cords Gr1 G, weighted bars1? F, tilting-lever F1, tongue El, sliding-bar 1)', andshfter C', alloperating together to ship'and unsliip the clutch in the mannerspecified. 5. The combination ot' sliding-bar I, having pins Iz 13, withwheel O, and pins K1 K, and the springcatches d, to limit the movementof the mandrel by throwing the clutch out of connection with both ot thepulleys, as setforth. f

6. The combination of the eccentric lever L, con necting-link L2,connecting-pin e, and the point-pin f, to operate the tail-spindle 1t,in the manner described.

HORATIO KEYES. Witnesses.

S. H. THOMPSON, 4 WM. GREENLEAF.

